Wiggins might not be a popular winner

I can't understand why Bradley Wiggins chooses to play the games he does.

Shape up Wiggo. If only your mannerisms matched your bike skills.

For a man who possesses so many superior qualities as a cyclist and sportsman, he goes about his public persona in such an arrogant way.

The tirade at the media conference after the doping rumour suggested by a journalist was way out of line.

Journalists get paid to ask questions, riders are paid to win races and deal with the media scrutiny that comes with modern-day professional sport.

If athletes are uncomfortable by the line of questioning, then say so.

What's the idea of delivering a spray of four-letter words to get your point across?

This has got nothing to do with sport but a lot to do with human behaviour and for mine Wiggins is lowly ranked in the latter.

His recent past suggests he loves to stir the hornets’ nest.

Take the pre-Tour official teams presentation in Liege where Wiggins publicly humiliated the legendary voice of Le Tour, Daniel Mangeas.

Mangeas has been the official on-course commentator since 1974.

He is blessed with a distinctive knowledge of world cycling to complement a velvet sounding voice which also comes across in the background of each of the presentation after every stage.

When asked a couple of mandatory questions by Mangeas to the tens of thousands on location and the many millions more tuning in on television, Wiggins (a fluent French speaker) used the forum to answer questions in English, knowing full well Mangeas has a lack of understanding for the English language.

To put it mildly it was cringe-worthy, as Mangeas demands respect.

I fully understand riders constantly being asked about doping can find it tedious and monotonous, but there are many ways to hand the barrage of scrutiny without resorting to "gutter" tactics.

Apart from that isolated incident, Wiggins has had regular run-ins with members of the media as was evident when using foul-mouth language at the Herald-Sun Tour a few years ago.

Manners maketh the man, so if Wiggins goes on to win the Tour de France, which after last night’s time-trial is a distinct possibility, I can assure you the result will not be a popular one, either in France or internationally.

Shape up Wiggo. If only your mannerisms matched your bike skills.

If that was the case you'd be the complete, perfect package but you still have a long way to go.

Whether Wiggins cares or not is not the point as he is not here to win a popularity contest.